{"id":70354,"date":"2016-02-26T04:57:19","date_gmt":"2016-02-26T04:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/stillbirth-offers-another-clue-to-possible-damage-from-zika\/"},"modified":"2016-02-26T04:57:19","modified_gmt":"2016-02-26T04:57:19","slug":"stillbirth-offers-another-clue-to-possible-damage-from-zika","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/stillbirth-offers-another-clue-to-possible-damage-from-zika\/","title":{"rendered":"Stillbirth offers another clue to possible damage from Zika"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d A stillbirth in Brazil is offering another clue to possible health effects of the Zika virus, this time beyond the developing brain.<\/p>\n

In addition to a devastating loss of brain tissue, this fetus also had another abnormality \u00e2\u20ac\u201d severe swelling and fluid build-up in other parts of the body \u00e2\u20ac\u201d that by itself can be life-threatening, researchers reported Thursday.<\/p>\n

Researchers found the Zika virus in the fetus even though the mother didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t report any symptoms of infection, according to the case report published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.<\/p>\n

Disease detectives should take a closer look at stillbirths in Zika-affected areas, concluded the team from Yale University and the Hospital Geral Roberto Santos in Salvador, Brazil.<\/p>\n

Zika is spreading rapidly through Latin America and raised global concern after Brazil reported a surge in babies born with unusually small heads, a birth defect called microcephaly that can signal underlying brain damage.<\/p>\n

Whether the mosquito-borne Zika really causes microcephaly isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t yet proven. But in a handful of previously published cases, researchers have found both the virus and serious brain abnormalities after fetal or newborn death.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s report could alert doctors to watch for other congenital problems \u00e2\u20ac\u201d like the fluid build-up cited in the study \u00e2\u20ac\u201d during prenatal ultrasound exams of women potentially at risk. The fluid problem is called hydrops fetalis.<\/p>\n

If a doctor spotted hydrops alone, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153you might not immediately attribute it to Zika virus because what has been described are brain abnormalities,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Dr. Sallie Permar of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute, an expert on maternal-fetal viral infections who wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t involved with the Brazil case.<\/p>\n

The case raises the possibility \u00e2\u20ac\u0153that this could be a systemic infection of the fetus, that not only the brain development could be affected,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Permar added.<\/p>\n

With the stillbirth, an ultrasound showed no sign of trouble in the 14th week of pregnancy \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but at 18 weeks, another ultrasound found the fetus weighed too little, the Yale-Brazil team reported. Doctors could detect a range of defects by week 30, including microcephaly and the fluid problem. Two weeks later, the fetus died. Subsequent testing detected the Zika virus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 genetic material in brain tissue and amniotic fluid.<\/p>\n

U.S. health officials say pregnant women or those considering becoming pregnant shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t travel to Zika-affected areas. If pregnant women already traveled to at-risk areas, they can undergo certain tests to try to detect if they were infected, as well as ultrasound exams to track fetal health.<\/p>\n